Unless you live in Ottawa or work within the federal public service, you may not have heard of the Carney Government’s “Comprehensive Expenditure Review.”

However, you have most likely have seen media coverage focusing on Prime Minister Carney and his Liberal government increasing spending levels.
 
So, what is the “Comprehensive Expenditure Review”?

Earlier this month federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent out letters to all cabinet ministers to find ways to reduce various departments’ spending by 15 percent over the next three years. It is scheduled for a 7.5 percent cut in 2026–27, rising to 10 percent in 2027–28 and 15 percent in 2028–29.
 
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) economist David Macdonald notes that cutting 10 percent of the federal operating‐expense envelope—about $13 billion—would, if implemented solely through layoffs, translate into roughly a 24 percent reduction in public‐service jobs.
 
Mr. MacDonald further stated that “the cuts would be worse than former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Deficit Reduction Plan, and would ‘rival’ the cuts conducted by Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien,” before concluding that these could be the “worst cuts to the public service in modern history.”
 
A very serious statement—but will that be the case? From my own perspective, I have found that with the Liberals you always have to read the fine print. The Comprehensive Expenditure Review is scheduled to be phased in with a 7.5 percent spending cut in the 2026–27 fiscal year, followed by an additional 2.5 percent cut in 2027–28 and a further 5 percent cut in 2028–29. These cuts are cumulative, meaning each year’s target builds on the previous year’s savings, culminating in a total 15 percent reduction by 2028–29 across most federal departments and Crown corporations.
 
I should also mention this is not the first time the Liberal government has proposed to reduce spending. For example, in the Liberals’ 2023 budget they promised cuts in government spending that would “represent savings of $15.4 billion over the next five years.”
 
So what actually happened? The Liberals ended up spending considerably more, significantly increasing the federal deficit in the process.
 
That of course also raises questions about Liberal government spending in this case. In the most recent fiscal year (2024–25), total federal government spending was roughly $485.7 billion. For reference, prior to COVID, total federal government spending (2018–19) was $338.5 billion.
 
This means that since COVID, total federal government spending is up over a whopping $147 billion a year. If we assume that the value of the spending cuts predicted by the CCPA is accurate and that the Comprehensive Expenditure Review is valued at $13 billion, the net increase in federal spending since COVID is still up by about $134 billion per year.
 
It should also be pointed out that the 2024–25 total federal spending of $485.7 billion does not include any of the significant spending increases that PM Carney has proposed since getting elected.
 
I suspect this is one of the reasons why, to date, Prime Minister Carney has defied the will of Parliament and refused to produce a budget. I expect the numbers will be well beyond anything former Prime Minister Trudeau managed to spend.
 
The purpose of this week’s report is to provide context. When you hear “spend less” from your federal Liberal government, in some places yes this may occur, but overall spending is up massively more.
 
My question this week: How transparent do you think the federal government is in reporting its overall fiscal state to Canadians under our new Prime Minister?
 
Join the discussion on my Facebook page. I can also be reached at [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-665-8711.